Prices are up in Seattle and around the Puget Sound

The Seattle-area housing market is turning on the after-recession-burners and currently shows no sign of slowing down as the spring buying season unfolds before us. There seems to be an unfaltering stream of buyers attracted to the area’s strong job market. King County currently is at a 1.3-month supply of homes with demand far outpacing that inventory. This has led to the current double-digit price increases we’ve seen over the past year. Based on statistics from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the median price for a single-family home in the city of Seattle has increased by 18.9 percent from March 2014, and now hovers at $535,000. As a whole, prices for King County have risen by 8.8 percent, and the median price for homes sold in March was $440,250. Condo prices have followed suit in King County, which are up to nearly an 8 percent increase over the year to a median of $269,600.

An added element of volitility has been added with the announcement that Bellevue’s long-time pillar, Expedia, will be moving its headquarters from downtown Bellevue to Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood. This move will bring with it, potentially, 3,000 employees who could choose to relocate in order to eliminate a commute from the Eastside. With interest rates low, low inventory, and surging demand, along with rental rates which are historically high, this market will continue to be dominated by multiple-offers and steadily rising prices in the months to come.